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Chapter 26 - Recovering Oneself (CitC)
Shazam, Aaron and Darius arrived in the Koopa Kingdom five days after setting out. The bandit disguise worked quite well for Shazam and Aaron, although Aaron did complain about being trapped underneath a red cloak. Darius, meanwhile, just bought himself some green Ninji robes, so he was virtually unrecognizeable as Darius. They had decided on false identities: Shazam would be Darius, Darius would be Aaron, and Aaron would be Shazam. The journey wasn't too eventful or troublesome; it was a southeast travel from Toad Town, over the Koopalps Mountains, and into the Koopa Kingdom's Dark Land. With three fit battlers, the mountains, while difficult, weren't an impossible task. Neo Bowser City had barricaded itself from the outside world, with defence systems flying up all around the city, and stringent security processes in place. Being that they had escaped the Mushroom Kingdom, they shed their false identities and were allowed into the city. The Castle was another story entirely. Kamek, the Chief Advisor to Bowser, refused to let them through initially. The defences around the castle were double than those around the city, and no one came in without authorization. It was only when they showed the elderly Magikoopa a picture of them with Tubba and the rest of the battlers at the rest of the Glitz Pit, did he lead them into the Castle's courtyard. Bowser's Castle was surrounded by a lava moat, making it impossible to tunnel underneath. The walls came right up to the edge of the rocky outcropping it was lying on, with jagged towers and countless spirals making their way into the night sky. As always, Bowser's emblem adorned the place, although the three battlers were positive they spotted Ludwig's emblem in more abundance than years prior. Kamek filled them on what had happened in the time they had been separate from the other battlers. Tubba stumbled into the Koopa Kingdom with a badly infected leg, and was soon put to work in the labs of the Koopa Kingdom. Once another group of battlers showed up, consisting of Gonzales, Xavier, Blizzerd, GB, Dibby and Clubbette, they caught wind of a weapon of destruction that the Mushroom Kingdom was holding in space. So, the battlers had decided to go into space and help take down the weapon, being that they were now wanted from the Mushroom Kingdom. Darius wasn't too pleased when he heard the news; he had been intending to meet up with Tubba and possibly more battlers, and now Kamek was telling him that they were in space? "So, let me get this straight," began Darius, glaring at Kamek from the eye-slot in his green robes as they walked up to the entrance door of Bowser's Castle. "They're not here?" The elderly Magikoopa nodded, curls of gray hair poking out from underneath his pointed wizard's hat. "You've come a few days late. They'll be back soon- assuming they don't get blown out of the air by the defences around the weapon. But they're not all gone." So that was how the three of them found themselves sitting at Xavier's bedside, bored and displeased. Xavier was the only battler of the group that had been left behind while the others went to space. According to the Medikoopas, Xavier bore the clear marks of being in a battle with a Kremling. While Xavier was no slouch when it came to battling, Kremlings were able to fight Iglators on their own, and likely won most of the time. A measly bandit like Xavier would stand no chance. The official report said that he had sustained many blows with a heavy club to the head, and while his body was out of physical danger despite being impaled by a spiked club multiple times, there was no guarantee his brain would pick up the slack once he was off the ventilator. The Medikoopas had requested the battlers to try and make him regain consciousness. That would be the best way for the Medikoopas to take him off the ventilator with success, as it would be clear indication the brain was once again in control of the workings of his body. According to the Medikoopas, simply having a conversation next to Xavier or shouting names at him had not worked. It proved to be a distraction from the displeasure of being left behind. However, no matter what they tried, be it appealing to his rational side, acting like they were in pain nearby, or shouting the names of "Tubba! Shazam! Aaron! Darius! Meloetta!" at him, Xavier appeared to not hear them. "Well, I'm done." Shazam groaned, settling in a chair beside Xavier's bed. The bandit lay on the unstained covers, eyes closed, a mask on his own mask, steadily pumping oxygen into his body. Beside him, a machine beeped with his steady heart rate. Aaron and Darius, who had already given up, sat in chairs nearby the bed as well. "I told you," remarked Darius. "He's long gone. I'll miss him." "What is it with you and being such a pessimist?" Aaron shot at Darius, puffing up with displeasure. "Xavier is not dead! Can't you hear his heart?" "Yeah, but you heard the Medikoopas. His brain isn't what's controlling the heart." Darius shot back with an eyeroll, looking over to the peaceful bandit on the bed to his left. "The only regret I have is that he didn't take Chubba with him first." Xavier twitched. The twitch went unnoticed by all three battlers, who were focusing on Shazam's next words. "Xavier and killing Chubba..." he remarked, a wistful tone in his voice. "That was a classic." Xavier twitched again, harder, his hands curling into a fist. The battlers, unaware, continued their conversation. "I remember he tried to kill Chubba a few times. His locker was full of schemes and blueprints." Aaron remembered, staring off into the distance as if remembering something a very long time ago. Before any of the battlers could respond, there was movement behind them. They spun around as the sound of the heart beeping cutting off suddenly, only to find a certain battler leaping to his feet on the bed, ripping off his oxygen mask, pulling a knife from inside his robes and glaring around the room for the certain Teal Clubba he wanted to kill so much. Instead, when he looked down, all he saw were three incredulous battlers gazing up at him.